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Epidemic warning unless world learns from ebola

A panel of 20 experts today publish a scathing report in The Lancet about the political response to the recent ebola breakout in west AfricaGetty Images

The world is at risk of an epidemic far more devastating than ebola if governments fail to reform international response systems, public health experts have warned.

A panel of 20 experts from around the globe today publish a scathing report in The Lancet about the political response to the recent ebola breakout in west Africa.

The World Health Organisation failed to declare a public health emergency quickly enough, they warn, adding that the epidemic “exposed deep inadequacies in the national and international institutions responsible for protecting the public”.

The group said there was “a high risk that we will fail to learn our lessons” from the “late, feeble and uncoordinated” response. Without addressing key issues, “we will remain wholly unprepared for the next epidemic, which…